


Were Just Strangers Who Know Enough

by orphan_account



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fantasy, Gardens & Gardening, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:41:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24790228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Neil finds himself at a magical garden every few days, but on his 5th visit, Neil realized he's not alone.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Were Just Strangers Who Know Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Oh baby I pulled an all nighter then randomly had this thought pop up in my brain. I don't know what happened, but enjoy! <33

Neil bowed down to smell the soft roses. Transfixed on their red-violet color. His mother would be furious if she knew of the garden behind the old church hidden deep in the woods, but she didn't. As long as Neil kept it that way, he would be able to continue visiting his garden. 

At first, it was a brown squirrel that drew Neil in. The way it scuttled about between overgrown plants Neil would never learn the names of with ease. The next day, it was the maggots and earth-worms squirming in the soft mulch. The day after that, it was the angry tabby cat that hid under the rusting green bench. Now though, simply all of the garden interested Neil. 

It was all of the smells and textures that you just couldn't get anywhere else. It was the heavy red tomatoes that taunted Neil everytime he visited, and it was the prickly flowers that guarded the church. The garden was a mess, but it was organized and safe. If you marched carefully and with caution, you could get through the maze of plants without breaking any stems or pricking your skin. 

Neil knew the garden had to be tended by someone. There was no way those plants could grow to their full capacity without a mentor, but Neil silently hoped there was no one. That maybe these plants avoided genetics and found a way to live fully without help. 

On the 5th visit, Neil caught eyes with a blond boy about his age locked behind the church's stained glass. Tentatively, Neil raised his hand in a gentle wave, then went back to smiling at the plants. The rest of his visit, he was pinned down by the boy's stare, but Neil found that he didn't mind. In fact, he felt more at ease with the stranger than usual. 

On the sixth visit, Neil felt the state drop on him yet again, but chose to ignore it in favor of the bird bath. The sky was gray with small rain drops falling freely from the clouds. While the blond boy stared from the church's stained glass window, Neil looked at the way the water rippled in the bird bath. Everytime the water settled enough to reflect his blue eyes, Neil would duck away and focus on the spider webs collecting dew. 

It wasn't until Neil began to leave that he remembered the boy stuck behind the stained glass. Before leaving the garden entirely, Neil caught the blonde's eyes and gently waved goodbye. 

While hidden in the abandoned church's garden, Neil's worries ceased to exist, but the boy behind the glass always stayed. It wasn't until Neil's seventh visit did he realize he had never seen someone step foot in the garden other than, probably, the boy behind the glass. This though unnerved Ne for no reason. 

On the eighth visit, Neil made his way to the empty glass with one thing in mind: make contact. Yet, when someone finally appeared, it wasn't the blond boy from before. The new man was tall and large with angry veins popping from his skin. He had tough muscle that made Neil nervous and a buzzcut on the top of his head. The smile that broke the man's face was devilish and shark-like. The hair on Neil's arms stood up at the sight of it. 

Neil brought his hand up to knock on the window, but as soon as he made contact with the smooth glass, a cruel and begging "Please," broke through his brain. It was begging and hopeless, but also hopeful. Neil waited a moment before he heard a guttural groan and stumbled back into a tomato plant. "Go away," Neil yelled at the man, "Get out!" 

On the ninth visit, Neil skipped his garden and ran straight into the church, b-lining to the place Neil knew the colored glass would be only to find the building empty. Slowly, Neil made his way to look out the window at where his garden should be, and found the blond boy digging a hole where the green bench should be. He felt like screaming at the blond boy to stop. That was his garden and he was ruining his plants, but as he looked around, he found his plant gone. Where his purple lilacs should be, was a long pile of upturned dirt with a small description. 

"Green eyes, black hair, California." It was an unmarked grave. 

Neil felt his breath catch and flicked his eyes back to the boy only to realize he was already staring. Within seconds, they were face-to-face with only glass between them. 

They were both quiet for a moment. Neil took in the golden flecks in the other's eyes while he drowned in the deep blue. They understood at this moment that there were no secrets between them. That Neil didn't know the other's whole truth and the other didn't know Neil's, but they both understood that soon, they'd tell each other everything. 

"Stay, or don't come back," the blond warned. 

Sheepishly, Neil shrugged, "I don't think I have a choice. I don't even know where you are." 

"Don't be stupid, I'm right here," after a few moments of silence, he continued, "My name's Andrew." 

"I'm Neil." 

Andrew waited a beat before asking the question he really wanted to know, "Yes or no, Neil?" 

Without a second thought, Neil whispered, "Yes." The colorful glass shattered in seconds and soon, Andrew was right there in front of Neil, and the wind was hitting his face. 

On the tenth visit, Neil had his hands carded in Andrew's hair and lips on his. On the tenth visit, Neil spent his day marking graves with names like "Stefan," "Alex," and "Chris." On the tenth visit, Neil spent his day padding loose dirt into the ground. 

On Andrew's sixteenth visit, he spent his time tending his garden. He pet Sir, chased squirrels, cut tomatoes, and chastised Neil for letting his vines overgrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment your thoughts! 
> 
> If you can, could you point out any errors?


End file.
